Baku 2015 still an option for Krpálek

The 24-year-old Krpálek is the reigning Judo world champion in the 100kg weight class and has collected gold at the last two European Championships as well.

This summer the Jihlava native could add a third straight European title and a first-ever European Games crown in one stop - as Baku 2015 will serve as the 2015 European Championships.

There is also the World Championships in August while Krpálek’s big goal is to finally win an Olympic medal.

"Of course, I will try to go to them all," Krpálek said in an interview with Tyden.cz.

"It is true that (the Olympics) is the only medal that I'm still missing. But prior to that, there will be plenty of other highlights, including the up-coming (European) Games in Baku, which will be the European Championships. And in August, I want to defend my world title."

Krpálek would love to get back to the Olympic Games after losing in the repechage at London 2012 to eventual bronze medallist Henk Grol of the Netherlands.

Krpálek is hoping to compete for a long time to come. However, he added: "It is definitely harder to maintain. I have been competing for a long time and hopefully it will continue. I still have to develop though."